1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to board games, and more specifically to a game for testing the knowledge of multiplication tables by the players. Each player is provided with a distinctly marked series of playing pieces or tiles each having a multiplication product on one side thereof, with the object being to place the tile on the proper location on a board grid having multiplication factors along peripheral rows and columns thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most people agree that learning mathematics, and particularly basic arithmetic, requires relatively difficult mental effort and is not a particularly enjoyable activity. This is particularly true of rote memory exercises, such as learning the basic multiplication tables. While the development of electronic calculators has greatly simplified such work, the fact remains that the ability to manipulate numbers, and especially to multiply at least single digit numbers together in one""s head, is an essential skill in the modern world.
While certain gifted teachers and instructors, and certain teaching methods or techniques, can help considerably in overcoming the difficulty in learning the subject, it is nevertheless extremely difficult to make the learning of arithmetic an enjoyable activity. Yet the enjoyment of games, particularly board games of various types, is nearly universal. Accordingly, some effort has been made in the past to develop a board game or the like involving arithmetic and/or mathematics, which game may be used to teach the subject while enjoying the game. Most such efforts are no more than a mechanized means of teaching the subject, and are not particularly enjoyable or competitive.
Accordingly, a need will be seen for a board game for teaching basic multiplication skills. The present game includes a board having rank and file peripheries with multipliers and multiplicands extending along each row and column of the board. A series of groups of playing pieces or tiles are provided to each player, with the groups differentiated for each player. Players draw tiles in turn and place them on the board at the intersection of the row and column defined by a multiplier and multiplicand for the product number of the tile. The present game lends itself to numerous variations, such as randomizing the row and column multipliers and multiplicands, placing different multipliers and multiplicands on opposite row and column peripheries, timed play, etc.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventor is aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,009,262 issued on Nov. 21, 1961 to Edward J. Moran, titled xe2x80x9cEducational Toy For Teaching Multiplication Table,xe2x80x9d describes a board having an array of sequential numbers along two adjoining edges thereof, with orthogonally disposed rods extending across the board. A light is provided at the intersection of the rods, with the light illuminating indicators at one end of each rod. The rods may be positioned rectilinearly across the board, with their ends indicating (and the light illuminating) a multiplier and multiplicand for the product over which the intersection of the rods (and the light) is positioned. While the Moran device may be used to teach multiplication, Moran does not provide any means to use his apparatus as a competitive game, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,571,953 issued on Mar. 23, 1971 to Frank S. Hassell, Jr., titled xe2x80x9cMultiplication Game,xe2x80x9d describes a yardstick type device with a series of 36 numbers on one side thereof. The opposite side includes various multiplication factors which may be used to arrive at the number directly opposite on the first side. A series of problem and solution tags are provided, with players placing the solution tags over the appropriate problems of the second side of the ruler, or placing the problem tags on the numbers of the first side of the ruler. The yardstick concept is relatively limited in comparison to the present board with its row and column matrix of multiplier products, and Hassell, Jr. does not provide any alternative arrangements for the factors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,301 issued on Mar. 24, 1992 to Kenneth C. Woods, titled xe2x80x9cMultiplication Facts Learning Aid,xe2x80x9d describes a system with manuals, booklets, worksheets, etc., for assisting persons in learning the basic multiplication tables. The heart of the Woods system is a matrix of numbered blocks arrayed in a series of panels, with each panel having a number of blocks equal to a squared number, i. e., one panel comprises a five by five matrix of twenty five blocks, another comprises a seven by seven matrix of forty nine blocks, etc. The panels may be moved to provide better visualization of the quantities involved. However, Woods does not provide any form of competitive game, nor separate playing tiles or pieces for placement on a board, as provided by the present multiplication game invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,447 issued on Jun. 7, 1994 to Margaret E. Mooney, titled xe2x80x9cMultiplication Square Game And Method,xe2x80x9d describes a traditional board game assembly with a game board having a peripheral playing path. Players alternatingly use a die to determine advance of position markers along the playing path, with each player being required to answer an arithmetic problem posed in each position of the playing path upon which their markers come to rest. Variations provide for the exchange of simulated currency and the chance drawing of various cards providing further instructions, advance or setback during play. The Mooney game bears no resemblance to the present game, with its matrix of positions providing places where players place numbered tiles corresponding to the products of peripheral row and column numbers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,718 issued on Apr. 13, 1999 to Gary O""Donnell, titled xe2x80x9cMathematical Board Game,xe2x80x9d describes a game closely resembling the well known Scrabble(copyright) word game. The O""Donnell game includes a board with a matrix of playing positions thereon and a series of playing tiles each numbered on one face. The tiles are placed face down and drawn randomly to provide a supply for each player. Players then inspect their tiles and alternatingly place two or more tiles in rank and file array on the board to form arithmetic equations, with the appropriate signs being disclosed by the players at the time of forming the equations. The rules of the O""Donnell game are very much like the game of Scrabble, whereas the present game requires players to select their tiles randomly for play and to place their tiles on the board in accordance with the peripheral multipliers and multiplicands of the present game board.
British Patent Publication No. 1,377,366 published on Dec. 11, 1974 to Leslie S. Cockerham, titled xe2x80x9cGame Set,xe2x80x9d describes a mathematics game having a board with a twelve by twelve matrix of positions, with each row and column being numbered consecutively according to peripheral numbered rows and columns. A series of playing tiles are provided, but the tiles are numbered on both sides in different colors, rather than being numbered only on a single side, as in the case of the present invention. This requires the tiles to be selected randomly and singly from a container or some means provided so players cannot see the tiles before they are drawn for play, since they are numbered identically on each side. Also, while Cockerham notes that the tiles are numbered xe2x80x9con at least two facesxe2x80x9d (page 1, lines 15-16), he does not provide any means of providing numbers on a flat (or round, as he also provides) tile, other than on the two opposite faces. Thus, the Cockerham game is limited to two players, or more generally, to a maximum number of players equal to the number of numbered faces on each tile. The present game has no such restriction, with the number of players being limited only by the number of different colors (or other means of differentiation) provided for the different sets of tiles. Also, Cockerham teaches toward play by only two competing players, as the object of the Cockerham game is for each player to form a path completely across the board, using their numbered playing tiles. Thus, the rules and playing tiles of the Cockerham game are completely different from those of the present multiplication game. In addition, Cockerham does not disclose any means for changing or randomizing the peripheral row and column numbers of the game board, as provided by the present invention.
Finally, British Patent Publication No. 2,066,547 published on Jul. 8, 1981 to Duncan J. McNair, titled xe2x80x9cMultiplication Board Game,xe2x80x9d describes a game in which the board represents essentially half of a numerical matrix defined by a sequential series of numbers multiplied together. The McNair board is arranged with the peripheral column numbers beginning adjacent the highest number in the peripheral row, rather than with the two lowest numbers of the row and column being positioned adjacent one another. A series of point value numbers is also provided along each peripheral row and column. The object of the game is to form a straight line completely across the board, either horizontally or vertically, with such a row or column receiving the point values for that row or column in addition to a score according to the numbers of the playing tiles. Thus, the McNair game more closely resembles the game of Scrabble(copyright) and the mathematical board game of the ""718 U.S. Patent to O""Donnell, discussed further above, than the present game. The McNair game differs from the present game in the above respects, and also due to the rules of play in which players randomly draw their playing tiles from a common stock and view their drawn tiles before play to determine which of the tiles they wish to play at a given turn. In contrast, the present game provides each player with his/her own supply of tiles, with each player""s tiles being differentiated from the tiles of other players (different colors, etc.). Also, McNair does not provide any means of randomizing the multipliers and multiplicands of the numbered row and column of his board, as provided by the present multiplication game invention.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention comprises a multiplication board game for teaching and enforcing basic multiplication tables and factors and simultaneously providing an enjoyable and competitive pastime for players. The present game essentially comprises a game board having a series of numbers along at least one peripheral row and adjacent peripheral column. These numbers serve as multipliers and multiplicands for the game. A number of different players may play the present game with each having his/her own set of game tiles, with the different sets of game tiles being differentiated from one another by some means (color, etc.). Each tile is numbered on one side only with the opposite side remaining blank, with the numbers of each set comprising the products of any two of the multiplier and multiplicand numbers of the peripheral row and column.
The tiles for each player are placed face down and in random order for access by the corresponding player. The object of the game is for players to draw a tile in turn from their supplies, note the number on the previously unexposed side, and place the tile with the number side facing up on a board position corresponding to a multiplier and multiplicand for the product represented by the number of the tile. Score may be based upon adding the exposed numbers of each player""s tiles which have been played, or by other variations. The game board may also be modified by randomizing the numbers along adjacent peripheries, and/or randomizing the numbers along each of the four peripheries to add more complexity to the game, if so desired.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an improved multiplication game for teaching and enforcing basic multiplication tables by means of an enjoyable and competitive game.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved multiplication game including a game board having multiplication factors disposed along at least two adjacent row and columnar edges thereof, with the board including a matrix of positions defined by the numbers of the peripheral row and column.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved multiplication game including a plurality of different groups of playing pieces, with each group corresponding to a different player of the game and being differentiated from every other group.
An additional object of the invention is to provide an improved multiplication game in which the playing pieces are numbered on a first side thereof, with each group containing all of the numbers defined by the multiplier and multiplicand peripheral numbers of the board, and with each piece being blank on its opposite side.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved multiplication game in which the peripheral numbers of the board may be randomized along two or more edges of the board, if so desired.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.